


Aftermath

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: Light-Bringer [4]
Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Wizards at War, Gen, Redeemed Lone Power, Spoilers for Wizards at War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 09:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8484892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: In the aftermath of everything to do with the Pullulus and the Hesper, Ronan woke up to find himself lying on top of a neatly-made bed, in an unfamiliar room.(Or: Ronan meets the version of the Lone Power who chose to become a wizard.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> You definitely need to read the previous entries in this fanfic series to understand what's going on in this fic. Plus the book _Wizards at War._
> 
> Is this in-character? I have no idea, friends.

** Aftermath **

In the aftermath of everything to do with the Pullulus and the Hesper, Ronan woke up to find himself lying on top of a neatly-made bed, in an unfamiliar room.

Considering that he hadn’t expected to wake up at all, ever again, this came as a considerable surprise, which was perhaps why it took him a few moments to notice that he hadn’t woken up alone.

But there was a chair beside the bed he was lying on, and a complete stranger was sitting on it, typing away at the laptop resting on their lap. Ronan had never met the man before, but after sharing hat-space with Winged Defender for years, he’d recognise that stranger anywhere, just as Winged Defender would.

Ronan struggled to sit up, and spat out, “Greetings and defiance,” which was about all that he could manage. It felt like someone had been performing Riverdance on his chest, and every breath he took tugged painfully.

The Lone Power looked up, and gave him a deliberately patient look.

“ _Dai stiho_ ,” the Lone Power said, “and don’t bother with the defiance. I’m a wizard, same as you are. Call me the Light-Bringer.”

Ronan spoke a swearword which adequately conveyed his disbelief.

The Lone Power closed his laptop, and put it on the bedside table.

“No, really,” the Lone Power said, somewhere between amused and annoyed. “I took the Oath ages ago. Who do you think finished patching you up?”

“You call this patched up?” Ronan was staying propped up on both elbows by sheer strength of will. The pain he was experiencing was increasing exponentially with every passing moment.

“Compared to what you were like when you showed up unconscious on my doorstep?” the Lone Power asked dryly. “The Australian wizard did a good job making sure the immediate trauma didn’t kill you, and got the healing process well underway, but without my help that scar of yours would have been twice as big. Now lie back down before you do yourself some damage.”

Reluctantly Ronan did so, mostly because he couldn’t actually keep himself propped up any longer. The moment he lay back down some of the pain blessedly went away.

Lifting the edge of his shirt to peer through the neck-hole, Ronan saw that his chest now sported an ugly red scar – but it was nowhere big as it should have been, considering what had pierced Ronan’s chest.

Letting his shirt fall, Ronan glared at the Lone Power.

“Why should I believe you?”

“Perhaps because your friends left you here under my supervision?” the Lone Power suggested, the tone of his voice suggesting that he was rapidly growing tired of this avenue of conversation. “They left a note. It’s on your forehead.”

Ronan instinctively reached up to touch his forehead, and sure enough, there was a Post-It note stuck to his hair. Peeling it off with a scowl, Ronan read it. 

Apparently it was from Kit and Nita. The note said that they had left him with the Light-Bringer to recover from the shock induced by being stabbed by the Spear, and not to worry, that the Light-Bringer really was a wizard, and either Kit or Nita would explain that later. Also, the Pullus had been defeated, so things were more or less back to normal.

Ronan looked back at the man-shaped Power sitting next to him.

“And I suppose it was their idea to stick it to my forehead?” he asked sarcastically. 

“No, that was all me,” the Lone Power – the Light-Bringer? – said, with the ghost of a smile.

Ronan frowned as he noticed for the first time how tired the other being looked.

“You don’t look so good yourself,” he observed.

The Light-Bringer sighed.

“Every wizard over the age of about seventeen lost their wizardry sometime in the last few days,” he said, “and their memories of wizardry with it. I lost my wizardry like everyone else, but being who I am, I didn’t forget. Until a few hours ago I had dozens of young wizards popping in and out for advice because they had no one else to go to. Frankly, I could sleep for a week, but I promised Nita and Kit that I’d keep watch over you until you were more recovered, so here we are.”

Ronan looked hard at the Light-Bringer. He liked to think he was a pretty good bullshit-detector, and every word the Light-Bringer had said struck him as genuine, down to the irritable way the Power had admitted that he’d rather be sleeping.

Ronan finally allowed himself to relax a little.

“Alright,” he said. “I believe you.”

“Thank you,” said the Light-Bringer. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone’s been performing Riverdance on my chest,” Ronan said honestly, and the Light-Bringer grinned, just a little.

“Unfortunately, it’s going to feel like that for a while,” the Light-Bringer said. “Your scar is still inflamed – with time it should settle down, as scars usually do.”

“Right,” said Ronan. “So, how does That Power end up taking the Wizard’s Oath?” The question came out sounding like a challenge, even though he hadn’t meant it to.

But the Light-Bringer only looked pensive.

“Something Kit said made me realise that it was an option... and that’s all I want to say on the matter,” he added firmly, looking Ronan in the eye.

“I’ll ask Kit then,” said Ronan, partly to get up the Light-Bringer’s nose, and partly because he genuinely wanted to know the whys and hows of the _Lone Power_ becoming a wizard.

The Light-Bringer rolled his eyes. 

“Nita implied that you’d be difficult.”

“As though she has room to talk,” said Ronan, mildly offended. “I could tell you stories...”

“I’m sure,” said the Light-Bringer, a little absently, as though his thoughts had drifted away.

Ronan scowled at him.

“Is there somewhere else you’d rather be?” 

“Honestly, yes,” the Light-Bringer said quietly, glancing at Ronan. “I’m worried about Dairine.”

“What’s she gotten herself into now?” said Ronan, who had heard things about Nita’s younger sister.

The Light-Bringer shook his head. 

“Not her,” he said, and his voice was sombre. “I believe you met a wizard named Roshaun? I wouldn’t say that he and Dairine were close, exactly... but they saw a lot of one another. I’m afraid to say that he didn’t make it back from the mission to defeat the Pullulus.”

Ronan knew, of course, that wizards sometimes perished in the course of errantry, even – perhaps especially – young wizards. That didn’t make the realisation that someone he’d met had _died_ while he’d been lying around unconscious any less unpleasant.

Ronan swore. The being next to him looked like he agreed.

“From what Nita and Kit said, Dairine took it rather hard,” the Light-Bringer said. “And given that she hasn’t come to see me yet, I’m inclined to believe them.”

Ronan turned those words over in his head, trying to put aside his regret at the other wizard’s death. He hadn’t exactly thought all that much of the other wizard – he’d seemed stuck-up, if anything – but well, death was never an easy thing.

He focused on something else the Light-Bringer had said.

“You’re close to her, then?”

The Light-Bringer made a face, half-sour, half-fond.

“When I took the Oath, she decided that I needed a friend, and took it upon herself to be that friend.” The Light-Bringer saw Ronan’s face, and scowled. “Yes, I know, my closest friend is a teenage girl, and a young one at that. Problem?”

“I don’t know,” said Ronan deliberately. “ _Is_ there?”

The Light-Bringer glared. If he’d had feathers, they would have been ruffled, Ronan thought, and then wondered where the thought had come from. Winged Defender was the one with the wings, not this Power.

“No, there isn’t,” the Light-Bringer snapped. “I’m aware that friendships between humans of our respective ages are often regarded with suspicion – but A, the two of us are wizards, which as you know changes things, and B, you of all people ought to understand that _I’m not human_ , no matter how much I look it.”

It was Ronan’s turn to scowl as he was reminded of his relationship with Winged Defender – a relationship which was now gone. There was an ache where Winged Defender had been, rather like the pain of a phantom limb – pain from what _wasn’t_ there, rather than from what was. He’d been successfully ignoring it up until now (mostly because of the more obvious pain from his chest), but the Light-Bringer’s pointed comment _('you of all people')_ brought home the fact that Winged Defender was _gone_ , and after all the time Ronan had spent half-resenting Winged Defender’s presence, he found that he wasn’t sure what to do without the Power in his head.

“Besides,” Light-Bringer went on, oblivious to Ronan’s thoughts, “I don’t have so many friends that I can afford to turn any of them away. Most people who know who I am aren’t exactly falling over themselves to befriend me, as you ought to be able to imagine. And adults generally are a lot warier than children.”

Ronan grunted rather than answering with words, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by everything that had happened. 

The Light-Bringer seemed to notice, because his features softened a bit from their hard, angular lines.

“It’s difficult, isn’t it?” he said. “Being alone.”

Ronan glared, because he really didn’t want to _talk about feelings_ , thank you very much. Especially not his own.

The Light-Bringer caught the glare, and grinned a bit.

“Don’t look at me like that, you think _I_ like talking about it? But trust me: I understand much better than most what it’s like to have Winged Defender’s presence in your life, and then lose it.” 

The Light-Bringer’s voice was matter-of-fact, but his expression was wistful.

“Wasn’t Winged Defender the one who kicked you out?” Ronan asked, and didn't regret the sharp tone of his voice.

The Light-Bringer gave a bitter smile.

“You think that made missing Them hurt any less? Being cast out by Them only made it worse, to be entirely honest. One more pain on top of another.”

“Them?” Ronan repeated, because the last thing he wanted was to think too deeply about the Lone Power’s feelings about being cast out, especially when right now, he unwillingly sympathised. Being without Winged Defender _hurt_.

The Light-Bringer snorted.

“You think any of the Powers have an intrinsic gender? We’re _Powers_.”

Ronan frowned, because Winged Defender had definitely felt male to him.

“He didn’t seem to mind me calling Him ‘He.’”

“Well, They wouldn’t, would They? They were embodied at the time, even if it was your body, not one of Their own. Besides, I suspect that Winged Defender doesn’t have the same issues with gender that I do.” The Light-Bringer grimaced. “They seem to adopt whatever gender is applied to Them at the time without any trouble. I, on the other hand, _itch_ whenever someone tries to gender me.”

Ronan stayed quiet, because for once he wasn’t quite sure what to say. He’d met aliens without a human gender, but the idea of someone with a human body who didn’t have a gender, despite looking very much like they did, was a concept he had some trouble wrapping his head around.

He didn’t know what his face looked like, but the Light-Bringer rolled his eyes.

“Don’t strain yourself,” the Light-bringer said dryly. “Think of me as you like in the privacy of your own head; I’m used to people getting it wrong, anyway, and I can’t exactly go around correcting them without turning it into Gender Studies 101.”

Ronan was pretty sure that there was an insult buried in there somewhere, but his chest was burning and it felt like there was a Winged Defender-shaped hole in his soul, so he let it pass.

“Right,” was all that he said. The Light-Bringer sent him a sympathetic look, but didn’t say anything more about either Ronan’s injury or about Winged Defender, for which Ronan was vaguely grateful.

“You should rest,” the Light-Bringer told him. “If you need anything, I’m here.”

Ronan didn’t really want to rest, but his body had other ideas. He could feel himself drifting off into unconsciousness again, bit by bit, his body exhausted by trauma and the effort of the healing process.

“Thanks,” Ronan mumbled unwillingly, and closed his eyes. He wasn’t exactly pleased to have a stranger watching over him as he slept, especially not _this_ stranger; but, well, he didn’t have much of a choice right now – he was in no state to get up and leave – and the Light-Bringer honestly didn’t seem that bad, no matter who he was. 

Besides, Nita and Kit had vouched for the Light-Bringer, Ronan thought blearily, and anyway… Winged Defender had told him once that if the Lone Power ever rediscovered It’s potential for good, the universe wouldn’t recognise It as the same Power. Ronan had been rather doubtful, but having now met the Light-Bringer…

Ronan didn’t say so often, but there were some things he was willing to take on faith. Especially when that faith was in Winged Defender. No matter how conflicted Ronan’s feelings were about that Power, he’d always trusted His judgement… well, most of the time… and he was willing to trust Winged Defender's judgement on this...

Another few seconds passed, and Ronan slipped away into sleep. He didn’t see the Light-Bringer glance at him, a wry twist to the Power’s mouth, before the Light-Bringer got up and went into the living room to send a quick message via Manual to Nita and Kit, updating them on his condition. Nor did he see the Light-Bringer cover him with a light blanket once it grew late enough for the air to cool a little.

Instead Ronan slept on, unaware of the Power which held watch over him, guarding growth and easing pain as best They could. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that I really needed the Light-Bringer to meet Ronan okay, because the Lone Power-turned-wizard meeting the former vessel of Winged Defender seemed too interesting an opportunity to let pass.


End file.
